


Fair Winds and a Following Sea

by Safire (dark_safire)



Category: Soul Eater
Genre: (kinda), F/M, Viking!AU, surprise at the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-26
Updated: 2016-07-26
Packaged: 2018-07-27 00:14:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7595791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dark_safire/pseuds/Safire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“There’s an old Viking legend that people tell in the ports, about the Baltic Sea and its guardians.”<br/>Ryu and Nidhogg. Surface and abyss. Good and bad. Light and dark.<br/>One can't exist without the other, and the sea can't exist without them.<br/>That's just how legends work.<br/>When the Nidhogg dies and the Baltic Sea becomes an eternal storm, Soul and Black Star take their weapons, recruit a crew, and set sails towards the unknown. Their mission? To kill the Ryu without dying in the process, and return the peace to the sea. Their life expectancy? Not too long.<br/>But who cares about that, when you have an adventure at your feet?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fair Winds and a Following Sea

**Author's Note:**

> Did you wonder if I was dead?  
> I did, but I don't do anymore.  
> This fic was written for the Soul Eater Reverse Bang 2016, inspired by the [art](http://feather97.tumblr.com/post/147985898802/theres-an-old-viking-legend-that-people-tell-in) of lovely [feather97](http://feather97.tumblr.com/), who somehow beared with me all this time (I'm the worst partner ever :'3).  
> ...  
> I hope you enjoy it :3  
> \-----------  
> [I'm Safire's Tumblr, I've got nothing important in me](http://dark-safire.tumblr.com/)

There’s an old Viking legend that people tell in the ports, about the Baltic Sea and its guardians.

They talk about the Ryu. A dragon-like creature, with pearls as scales, and eyes that hide the secrets of the sea. A symbol of intelligence, courage, and loyalty. They say that seeing the Ryu is an omen for good luck and a safe travel; that those who get to touch one of its scales, even if it is just for a second, will forever be surrounded by happiness.

And they talk about the Nidhogg. A dark presence that rummages the depths of the sea, where light can´t touch its delicate eyes, atrophied after an eternity in darkness. Sailors talk about the Nidhogg as a representation of fear and madness, a creature that prefer to never see the light again, to be away from the dangers of the surface.

An omen for death.

There’s an old Viking legend that people tell in the ports, about the Baltic Sea and the creatures that maintain the balance in there. Ryu and Nidhogg. Surface and abyss. Good and bad.

Light and dark.

One can't exist without the other, and the sea can't exist without them.

_That's just how legends work._

* * *

There's a time in everyone's life when you reach the dreadful age of twelve.

Too old to be considered a child and too young to be accepted as an adult, Soul Evans spent most of his time as a teenager running away from his duties, and hiding behind the bar with Black Star in the Polar Star, a popular pub near the decks owned by Sid and Nigus (the young couple that decided to adopt an hyperactive little star). Sailors, travelers, and even pirates stopped by to have a drink, and tell stories to everyone who wanted to hear them.

Like many other kids in the village, Soul and Black Star liked adventures, they could spend hours and hours hearing about the Baltic Sea and it’s creatures. The shady mermaid with their beautiful voices; and the dangerous sea witches in their lonely islands. The land beyond the sea, with its strange people and even stranger cultures.

And, of course, the Ryu and the Nidhogg.

While Black Star always showed more curiosity towards the Far East, with its dancing warriors and invisible swords, Soul interest was completely centered in the Spirits of the Baltic Sea. He liked the stories of epic battles, with ships sailing the seas in search of treasures and adventures, and Vikings returning home with charged with glory.

He liked to think that one day he would jump on one of those ships, and become a legend.

_And Destiny had just the perfect opportunity to make his dreams come true._

* * *

“ _It fell!_ ” One of the men at the pub said in a hushed whisper. “ _I’m telling you! **It fell!**_ ”

Soul got near the group and pretended to clean a table, subtly eavesdropping in the conversation. Hushing pirates always were a good source for news.

“ _It’s impossible! It can’t just fall!_ ” Another man answered, keeping the whispers low.

“ _I saw it with my own eyes!_ ” The first man replied. Beads of sweat were starting to form in his brow, and the hand that held his beer was shaking slightly. “ _The symbol of the Nidhogg… it fell! Just before Captain told us to set route to the port!_ ”

That picked Soul’s curiosity, making him move slightly closer. Black Star took care of the other tables, giving his friend a quick glance that said everything that needed to be said. Eighteen years of friendship usually come with telepathy.  

And Soul’s curiosity was always followed by an adventure, a good one.

“ _You should’ve seen his face!_ ” He continued. “ _It was pale, like he just saw a ghost._ ” In a sharp movement, the man jumped to his feet, throwing himself to the front, holding the edges of the table with an iron grip. “ _He was terrified! **Our** Captain was terrified!_ ”

“ _You’re exaggerating._ ”

“ _I’m not!_ ” The man barked. “ _I… I…_ ”

“ _You what?_ ”

Silence.

A silence that made Soul stop moving, stop breathing.

“ _I heard him mention the Kraken._ ”

There are a lot of old legends that people tell in the ports, about the Baltic Sea and its creatures.

Legends like, for example, the one that talks about how after the Nidhogg’s death, if it ever actually happens, the Kraken will wake up from its sleep, and eat 99 human souls, to become the new Nidhogg and bring balance to the sea.

_But that’s just how silly legends work._

_… right?_

* * *

The sea hasn’t been at peace these past days, and so haven’t been the Vikings. Day after day, the weather gets worse, with roaring storms every night and dreadful stories of sunken ships becoming everyday talk.

Sailors fear the sea more and more lately, meaning that the Polar Star is becoming progressively emptier as days go by.

 _“You can’t have a pub for sailors without sailors.”_ Said Nigus when Soul asked why they were talking about closing. _“It’s just for a while Soul until we get some good weather again.”_

Soul wasn’t that happy with that. The Polar Star had always been his safe heaven, his happy place. There, he could hide from his parents expectations, from his brother’s shadow, and be whatever he wanted to be, dream whatever he wanted to dream.

“But it’s just for a while,” He thought. “Just until the weather gets back to normal,”

He pushed to a side the thought of that weird conversation he heard some days ago, cleaning tables to distract his mind. It was just the delirium of a pirate that drank too much sea water, a poor man that couldn’t difference truth from lies anymore. It couldn’t be that, it was impossible.

_How could it ever happen?_

The front door slams open, letting the rain enter like a furious animal. The little group of people that was in the Polar Star (just the owners, Soul and some usual patrons), turned their heads to look at the shivering figure standing in the door.

It was a man.

… no.

_It was a woman._

Tall, with long hair as black as the night, and dark clothes that soaked wet. She stumbled her way inside the pub, falling to her knees and talking on a language that no one understood, but everyone found strangely familiar.

“Pe-people… sea… help…” She finally got to say, with a thick accent that made Soul and Black Star’s eyes go wide.

_A woman from the Far East._

“Where?!” Black Star was the first to jump, helping the woman to her feet and putting her in his shoulder, practically in the same movement. Though she was disoriented by the action, Black Star had his priorities clear. “Where is he?!”

With a trembling hand, she signaled the way to the decks. Black Star and Soul shared a single glance, quickly taking their weapons. Soul caught the closest lantern with the hand that wasn’t holding his sword, while Black Star fixed the girl on one shoulder and his battle axe on the other.

The way to the decks was short, maybe too much, and as they ran they could hear more footsteps joining them. Neighbors, warriors, and brave curious followed the lead of Soul’s yellow lantern, dragged to the disasters like moths to the fire.

What they found in the decks, however, was anything but what they expected.

“… for Odin…” Soul whispered.

_Or maybe it was._

Destroyed, everything was destroyed. Not a single ship that set sail that day survived, and neither did the people that where in them.

It was a sea of blood.

And, in the distance, a creature dark as a nightmare, returned to the depths.

“Monster…” The woman whispered, clenching at Black Star’s shoulder and staring terrified at the horizon. “Sea monster…”

Soul said nothing. He just stared, hearing the whispers building around him, while the warriors forced him and the crowd to get away from the deck.

_“Was it…?”_

_“It was, wasn’t it?”_

_“What are we gonna do? What are we gonna do? What are we gonna do?”_

_“This can’t be happening…”_

_“Is this the end?”_

_“We’re doomed…”_

**_“The Kraken is awake…”_ **

* * *

“You want to _what_?”

Black Star doesn't tend to question things. Soul says "A" and Black Star is already at the door, axe in hand, helmet on head, complaining about how slow he walks.

It isn't usual for Black Star to question an adventure.

"I want to take a ship, go to the Baltic Sea, and kill the Ryu."

_But there's a first time for everything, isn't it?_

" _Why_?" Black Star reclines on his chair, putting his big boots over the table. "What kind of good would kill the Ryu bring you?"

Soul sighs, looking the empty pub around him.

The sea is a constant storm of whirlpools and hurricanes, fishes are dying, business are dying, _everything is dying_ , and, to make it worse, there’s a giant monster roaming the sea trying to eat people.

"What else do you suggest?" Soul asks. He doesn’t sound mad, or even angry, he’s just… _tired_. “Wait for death here? C’mon, Black,” _So, so, so tired of everything._ “It’s been months, we both know that if the Kraken doesn’t kill us the hunger will.” _So tired of waiting for something to happen, anything._ “At least killing the Ryu we’ll have an opportunity.”

_So tired of staying still._

Black Star looks down at him, the muscles in his arms tense like a rope. “Because that book says so?”

And Soul can see it, Black Star is tired too. He has never been one to stay quiet, but all this time in the side lines is making him more and more anxious. Soul just needs to push a little further, just a little more.

"I know it’s not too much, but _it makes sense_.” He states. “We have this chaos because there’s too much Ryu and too little Nidhogg." He looks at Black Star right in the eyes, trying to push the idea inside his rock-hard brain. "Even the Kraken is awake because we need more Nidhogg” _If he can convince Black Star…_ “But if there’s no more Ryu-"

“We won’t need more Nidhogg.” Soul can swear he hears a choir of angels when Black Star finishes the sentence for him.

“Sea in peace, no more Kraken, happy ending, drinks for everyone.”  Soul says; a devious smile on his face. “We’ll be heroes, Black. This is **the** adventure.”

And he has him; with that last line he has him.

Adventure, heroes, two friends defeating monsters in a dragon-like ship. How can you say no to that?

_And yet…_

“What about Tsubaki?”

The ship crashes.

“What about her?” Soul asks, trying to keep his cool.

Black Star turns to look at the kitchen’s door. On the other side of said door, Tsubaki, the young woman from the Far East, is cleaning plates and glasses, probably humming a tune from her country. She was far away from her people, with nowhere to go and no family to support her.

It was no surprise that Sid and Nigus opened their hearts and home to the young woman the same night she appeared.

_And then, there was Black Star…_

“I can’t let her alone,” He says, absently drumming his fingers on the table. “Something can happen, she can get hurt…”

He was so painfully obvious, that Soul felt ashamed of pointing it out.

“We can take her with us; maybe we won’t die from food poisoning if we do.” Soul suggests, and raises an eyebrow when Black Star’s face turns to horror. “Or not.”

“Are you crazy?!” He exclaims, and Soul finishes his drink just a second before Black Star hits the table with both hands and makes everything jump. “She could get hurt! Or worse! **We can’t take her!** ”

“Who?” Tsubaki appeared out of nowhere, like she usually did, making Black Star jump.

Soul seized the opportunity, and took it.

“You.” He says, looking her cautiously.

“Where?” She asked again, her accent maxing with the confusion.

Black Star wants to kill him, but Soul keeps going. “On an adventure to stop this madness.”

And he knows it. He knows that Tsubaki, in her limited knowledge of the English language, understands what he wants to say. There’s something in her eyes that makes it clear.

“When?”

* * *

The problem with wanting to sail in a suicidal mission to the Baltic Sea in the middle of a constant storm, is that not a lot of people want to join you crew. Black Star tried luck with some warriors, and Soul talked with the old sailors that roamed around the market, but no one did more than stare and reassure their craziness.

Soul threw his head back, while Black Star paced around the pub.

“Did they-?”

“No.”

“Not even-?”

“No.”

“Did you try-?”

“Yes.”

“And they didn’t-?”

“No.”

Black Star sighed heavily, and kept on pacing.

Soul knew it was a crazy plan when he came up with it. You needed to be as mad as them to even consider it, let alone be part of it, but he didn’t expect this lack of suicidal madmen. He hummed, closing his eyes, letting his thoughts get lost in the whispers of the storm.

If only they could find a navigator. They didn’t need a whole crew, just a navigator, someone that knew their way in the sea, that’s all. But the only men that filled that requirement were old, and wise enough to refuse such a dangerous work.

They couldn’t ask Sid or Nigus for help either, Black Star was very specific that this had to be kept a secret from his parents. They couldn’t find out until they were on the ship, far away from the island. He knew that if they told him to stay, he would.

Soul sighed. Sometimes he wished he had half as good a relationship with his parents as Black Star had (but they were too occupied making sure everyone knew Wes’ name, and he always preferred to keep his distance from them).

The door opened and closed heavily, and Soul opened his eyes to look at the place where he expected Tsubaki to be.

The person he found, of course, wasn’t Tsubaki at all.

“We’re closed.” Black Star says to the stranger, stopping his pacing. “Sorry.”

“Oh, I know.” The stranger says back, shaking the rain from her coat and throwing her hood back, revealing a round face surrounded by dirty blond hair. “My name is Maka.”

Tsubaki appears behind her, a big smile on her face.

But all that Soul can see are Maka’s eyes.

They’re green, deep green, like the sea before a storm. And there’s something in them (he’s not sure what, but there’s something in them), something that could make a hurricane back down.

“I’m here to be your navigator.”

* * *

Maka is the daughter of a pirate, and knows the sea like the back of her hand. She passes all the tests, and even surprises them by fluently speaking Tsubaki’s language. Black Star approves of her instantly (more than anything, because Tsubaki seems to like her a lot), and when Soul asks why does a smart, young woman like her wants to go on this suicidal mission, her answer is short, but right to the point.

“My father and his crew sailed on a similar mission some time ago. I just want to find them.”

She doesn’t point out the fact that they’re probably dead, and neither does Soul, but she looks at him right in the eyes, and it’s difficult not to believe in someone when they do that.

They talk for a while, divide duties, get to know each other as much as necessary. At some point, Maka questions if they have a ship, and Soul shares a knowing look with Black Star.

“Don’t worry,” He says. “We got it covered.”

There’s some more planning, and they finally decide on leaving that same night.

“By the shipyard’s backdoor at midnight, just bring the necessary.” Everybody nodded, Soul hummed approvingly.

And, just like that, the Destiny started its way towards an adventure never seen before.

* * *

Hiding from the storm in a little alleyway, Tsubaki waits patiently by the shipyard’s backdoor, her thick fur jacket protecting her against the cold. It’s nice and comfy, but a little too big because it used to be Black Star’s (he gave it to her after finding out none of her clothes were made to survive such a cold weather).

While she stares at the flickering light of a nearby lantern, a small figure appears on the other side of the dark alleyway, catching her attention.

Maka walks towards her. Her dark green cloak looks like a cape of darkness in the night, and her hood covers her eyes from the unforgiving weather, but somehow, it looks like she… _shines._

“You’re early.” She says in Tsubaki’s language, pulling her hood down.

“You too.” Tsubaki answers, moving a little to the left to let her rest against the wall.

For a long while, both woman stare in silence at the light, while the storm roars.

There’s still fifteen minutes until midnight.

“Thanks for telling me about this.”

Tsubaki stares at Maka from the side, a small smile on her face. “I thought you would want to know, my lady.”

Maka blushes, staring at the floor and clicking her tongue. “There’s no need for you to call me that, we’re friends.” She says embarrassed.

“I know, my lady.” Tsubaki answers kindly.

Maka huffs and crosses her arms, looking to the side with a little smile.

“You don’t need to keep spying for me, Tsubaki.” She says, looking up at the dark sky. “What you did on the deck was more than enough.”

Tsubaki fixes a stray strand of hair behind her ear, looking beautiful, elegant, and mature in a single movement. Maka has always been surprised with Tsubaki’s delicacy in every one of her movements, and maybe (just maybe) a little jealous.

“I appreciate what you’re attempting to do, my lady, and I wish to assist you as much as I can.”

 _This_.

This is why Maka brought Tsubaki to this island, why, out of everyone she knew, she thrusted _her_.

She had loyalty, a loyalty that can only be achieved after years of friendship, and morals that weren’t tinted by bitter resentment.

“Thank you, Tsubaki.”

“Whenever you want, my lady.”

Tsubaki’s friendship was everything Maka needed.

“They’re so stupid! So stupid!” A female voice sings from the darkness, the strong wind hiding her words from Maka and Tsubaki’s unknowing ears. “Let’s just blow their ship to pieces!”

“I can’t believe they think their little plan is going to work.” Another female voice says, more calm and mature than the other. “We should just sink it as soon as they leave the deck.”

And then, a third voice appears, a voice that crawls deep in the souls, like sea itself. “Now, now,” He quiets his companions. “You both know that what we need to sink isn’t the ship.” He says. His yellow eyes are focused on Maka’s face.

_There’s still ten minutes before midnight._

* * *

Maybe it wasn’t that good of an idea, Soul thought. They didn’t have much of a plan, after all.

“Hey!” Black Star calls out in a hushed whisper. “Help me with these ropes, would you!”

_On the other hand, it doesn’t really matter, anyway._

“Are you sure this is the one?” Soul questions, quickly untying the ropes that held the ship prisoner.

“Yeah!” Black Star answers from the other side. “Second one to the left, the Black Dragon it is!”

_The Black Dragon._

Soul and Black Star grew up hearing legends of its epic adventures, how it could cross the sea in half a day and survive battles against unthinkable enemies. Monsters, pirates, and foreign warriors had tried to stop her, but none of them could do more than scratch her. Above any other ship, above anyone else, she was the one and only Queen of the Sea.

And now they are stealing her.

A rush of adrenaline runs through their veins, making them go faster.

_Seven minutes before midnight._

* * *

A clock ticks somewhere, and Maka counts the tiles on the floor.

_Six minutes before midnight, the boys are taking their time._

She’s not so worried, though. Even when the patrols are about to start, with this weather and the lack of light she and Tsubaki are pretty much invisible.

She’s not worried for the guards (of course not). But then she thinks of Soul’s red eyes, and a shiver runs down her spine.

_Soul reminds her a little of her father._

_It’s for the eyes_ , she knows _¸ only a man crazy enough to go on a mission like this can have those eyes._

The eyes of someone who can see fear to the face and taunt it with a smile, a person that, when finding themselves in front of danger, would take a sword and run head first against it.

A mad man in love with the sea.

_A pirate._

Maka likes pirates, they remind her of her father, and, even she didn’t have that good of a relationship with him, she can always appreciate a man that could love the see as much as good old Spirit.

After all, if Spirit had being just a little less crazy, he could have never met her mother, and she wouldn’t exist.

And, after growing up surrounded by them, Maka developed a weak spot for pirates and adventures. Her mother said it was on her blood.

Maybe that was exactly why she didn’t wanted Soul and Black Star to sail, and wanted to help them at the same time.

_It was complicated._

“Liz! Look!”

“My, oh, my…” A female voice comes from the shadows and makes Maka go pale. Tsubaki starts trembling. “Look what you just found, Patty.”

From the darkness of the alleyway appear two woman, both blond and gorgeous, walking under the rain that seemed unable to touch their beauty.

“Our young lady,” The tallest, and apparently oldest, looks directly at Maka’s eyes while continuing her slow pace. “And our _sister._ ” She spats, giving Tsubaki a side glance.

She stops a couple of feet from them, staring with her blue eyes like there was something funny in the pair. The other girl just kept running around her, singing a song about the rain like there wasn’t a storm.

“What shall I do with you two, huh?” She questions and, to their horror, she looks over their heads, and a little to the left. “What are _you_ going to do with them?”

Maka turns slowly. Behind her, tall as a tree and cold like a stone, stands a young man wearing black clothes. His eyes are a deep, terrifyingly calm yellow.

“Kid…” She breathes out.

He looks down at her, and something shines inside his eyes, something dangerous. “Good evening, mermaid Tsubaki, Lady Maka.” He’s close, staring down at her, while his sole presence traps Tsubaki against the wall. “Or should I say,”

_“Ryu”_

_Four minutes before midnight._

* * *

“What are you doing here?!” Maka questions, taking a step back to keep her distance from Kid.

“That’s what _I_ should be asking _you_.” He says severely. “What is the Ryu doing outside of its sea? Taking a vacation?”

“I-I just-” She stutters, unsure, but Kid cuts her abruptly.

“I’ll tell you what you’re doing here.” He has that voice that always makes Maka feel small, defenseless. “You, young lady, are letting your responsibilities aside to do exactly what you shouldn’t do.” _Inferior_. “Protecting _humans._ ”

She feels like a child. And if there’s something Maka hates, that’s being treated as a child.

“So what?!” She bites back, anger dissipating her fear. “Are you saying I should just let them sail to their deaths?!”

“ _Yes._ ” Kid’s answer is simple and free of any hesitation. It hits her right in the face. “You should. Even more, you’re _supposed to do so_. You are _the Ryu._ ” His yellow eyes glow with something that isn’t fury as much as it is some kind of disappointment. “For my father’s sake, Maka, haven’t you seen the sea?! We _need_ these souls!”

“But the souls eaten by the Kraken will never get peace!”

“And the sea will never get peace until we get a new Nidhogg!”

_Three minutes to midnight._

They stare at each other, green against yellow, while the three mermaids stand on the side lines.

_A guardian of the sea against its god._

“You can’t expect me to let these people die like that.”

“What are human lives compared to our sea?”

 _Two minutes before midnight_.

“Maka-”

“Don’t even try, Tsubaki.” Liz stops her, holding her shoulder tightly. “You still have to apologize to our sisters.”

“Tsubaki’s in trouble! Tsubaki’s in trouble!”

_One minute._

“I won’t let them die.”

“We’ll see.”

_Zero._

“Hey, girls! Everything’s—” Black Star stops midsentence, looking at the unexpected amount of people. “Uh…”

Before Maka or Tsubaki can make up an excuse, Kid steps to the front and holds his hand towards Black Star.

“I am Death the Kid, and these are Elizabeth and Patricia Thompson.” He politely says. “We were called by Lady Maka and Miss Tsubaki, and wish to join you crew in this… _adventure_.”

Black Star looks confused, and gives Maka and Tsubaki a long stare, asking if that’s really what’s happening. Knowing what the trio is capable of, both women nod slowly.

“Alright…” He says doubtfully. “Come in.”

In the silence of night, while the group slowly takes control over the ship, Maka can hear the waves whispering.

_“I won’t go, until you yourself sacrifice them to the Kraken.”_

A shiver runs down her spine.

_Show time._

* * *

Nigus knew what everything was about when the alarm went off.

That’s why the first thing she did was run to Black Star’s room, where she didn’t find her son.

After all, a mother knows.

_“The Black Dragon! Someone stole the Black Dragon!”_

_“Stop them!”_

_“Pirates!”_

Over Black Star’s pillow lies a letter, written in his aggressive calligraphy.

— _Mom,_

_By the time you read this I would probably be far away, but don’t worry, I’ll be fine!_

_Soul and I are out to kill the Ryu and stop this madness, so you and dad can start preparing my “Welcome Back, Hero” party. Just make sure to make it a surprise, I like surprises._

_Tell dad I love him, and to not worry, you guys raised the BEST VIKING EVER._

_See you both when there’s some fair weather._

_Love, Black Star._

_P.S: Tsubaki’s with us too. I’ll make sure she comes back safe._

Nigus doesn’t cry.

Not because she doesn’t want to, or because she can’t.

Nigus doesn’t cry, because she wants to save her tears for when Sid comes home and reads the letter too.

Nigus doesn’t cry because, if she does, she won’t have tears to cry with Sid. And, if they’re going to cry, she prefers they do it together.

* * *

Kid tries to convince Maka on sinking the ship.

He isn’t even subtle about it. He just stands there and stares at her for long periods of time, pretending not to whenever she stares back.

He just stands there, staring, and making the sea whisper to her.

_“This would be so easy if you just killed them.”_

_“There’s no need to make things difficult, just smash this ship against some rocks.”_

_“Ninety nine human souls. What are ninety nine human souls compared to the sea’s peace?”_

_“These are just some little humans; they’ll be dead in a couple years anyway.”_

_“But the sea… the sea will live forever.”_

_“Are you willing to sacrifice it for these tiny souls?”_

_“… or is it…”_

_“Is it maybe that you… want them to kill you?”_

_“Are you so desperate, Ryu?”_

“Are you okay?”

Maka blinks surprised. Soul’s standing in front of her, staring confused at her face and moving a hand in front of her eyes.

“Y-yeah…” She stutters. “I was just… thinking…”

Soul raises an eyebrow, and the sea whispers about him finding out she’s the Ryu and planning to kill her in her sleep.

“If you say so…”

_This is making her crazy._

“I think I need a break.” She says, picking up her books and folding her maps. “Get some fresh air.”

Soul shrugs, turning to walk out of the small room.

“If you want some fresh air now’s the time to get it, the weather is as nice as ever.”

She gives him a big smile that he doesn’t return, and quickly walks to the door. Before closing it behind her, she turns to give Kid one last glare, and leaves.

The young God of the Sea just stares at the door over his cup of tea.

_It is a matter of time before he can get out of this god forsaken asymmetrical monster._

* * *

“Whoa! Such a nice weather!” Maka exclaims as soon as she gets outside. It’s cloudy, and there isn’t much sun, but it’s still better than usual. “I can’t remember the last time I saw a sky without rain.” She turns, looking all around her, until her eyes fall in the Black Dragon’s head, and something in her chest twists painfully.

Soul rests his back against a wall and stares at the sky. “Yeah…” His voice is thoughtful, maybe a little lost. “The books said that the closer you got to the Ryu, the clearer the sky became.”

A shiver runs down Maka’s spine, taking her eyes away from the Dragon’s head, but she pretends it doesn’t happen. She can’t let her guard down with him, not until she returns this ship to the island.

“I remember reading something about it.” She says, looking at the infinite gray sky. “It says that the Ryu is an omen for good fortune, coming across it means a life of prosperity and happiness.”

Soul stares at her for a while, wondering. The wind blows, and Maka’s hair moves with it while her eyes are fixed on the sky.

“It sure will mean prosperity for us once it’s dead.”

She tenses, Soul barely notices it, but she does, and he can’t help thinking she looks so out of place here, in the middle of this suicidal hunt.

_Just like the others._

“Where did you meet Tsubaki?” He asks.

Maka turns confused, her clothes dancing in the wind. “Uh?”

“Tsubaki, where did you meet her?” He questions again, getting closer to her. “You speak her language, and I’m sure she didn’t just meet you on the market.” He stares down at her, a small frown on his face. “Also, where did the other trio came from?” And, before Maka can say a word, he states, “ _The truth._ ”

He’s serious with this, he won’t let her just slip away with some weird excuse. Tsubaki is no problem, but Kid gives him the creeps, and Liz and Patty look at him and Black like they wanted to murder them in their sleep. If he’s going to travel with them, if he’s going to trust them his back, he needs something more than a bunch of coincidences.

“I… they…” Maka struggles with the words.

_She has never been good improvising lies._

“We’re… childhood friends.” _Technically, it isn’t a lie._ “Tsubaki and I are childhood friends, it’s a long story, Liz and Patty are her cousins.” Soul raises an eyebrow, unamused, and Maka shrugs it off. “Don’t question me about it, I don’t make questions about my friends’ families. They say they’re cousins, I suppose they are.”

_That’s… that’s actually pretty good…_

Soul turns his harsh eyes towards Tsubaki, but his glare softens as soon as he sees her calmly talking with Black Star. It’s complicated to doubt of someone when they make your best friend so happy.

“Okay…” He says, looking once again at Maka. “Okay, I can accept that, but what about symmetry-boy downstairs? What’s up with him, and why he keeps looking at me like I’m the one who painted those lines in his hair?”

Soul is serious.

He’s really, really, really serious. He’s making a serious question about a serious topic, slipping here could throw Maka’s plan to the sea.

And yet, she can’t help and _laugh._

Because a mortal ( _a human!_ ) is making fun of Death the Kid, God of the Sea, behind his back with the thing he hates the most.

_It’s hilarious, to say the least._

And while Soul stares and wonders what’s wrong with her, he can’t help thinking he likes the sound of her laugh (loud and clear, like the waves hitting against the rocks), or how her hair shakes with every movement, how her eyes (those eyes green and deep as the sea itself) shine and glow while happiness dances inside them.

“His father was an old friend of my mother, we grew up like brothers.” She says with a smile, drying an imaginary little tear from her eye. “He gets a little cranky when things aren’t done his way, but don’t mind him too much,” And she looks at him again, when her green eyes shine in this new light, Soul sees something he didn’t know could be found in such a small body. “I won’t let him touch you.” He sees a storm, unstoppable and undefeatable, hidden behind the greenest eyes in the world.

Maka walks away, slowly making her way downstairs. And Soul can’t help thinking that, if she wasn’t in his side, if she was his enemy, he isn’t sure he could take that woman down in a battle.

And then a question plops in his head.

_Is she really on his side?_

And it stays, and stays, and stays, dancing inside his mind with a pair of green eyes staring at him.

Far away, but not so far, Patty turns to quickly go search for her sister, a sense of déjà vu growing in her belly.

_Once again, the cycle begins._

* * *

“Are you sure about this? I don’t trust that woman…”

“I don’t do it either, but Kid said it will be easier this way.”

Patty nods unsure, while Liz blows into the black shell and throws it to the sea.

They turn and go back to their chores quickly, while the shell dissolves in black foam, taken away by the waves.

* * *

Soul has always liked the night.

The moon, the stars, the silence…

In the night he felt safe, he felt at peace. He was away from everything and everyone, from his family’s expectations, from his brother’s shadow, from people’s judgment.

In the night, in the sea, where no one could see him, where no one wanted anything from him, he was truly free.

Soul liked the night. But more than that, Soul liked the sea; because it could give him the freedom his house always neglected him.

“You couldn’t sleep?”

_And there goes his peace._

Soul turns slowly, almost against his will, and is faced by a pair of deep green eyes staring right at him.

In the middle of the night, with the moonlight falling from above, Maka looks like a spirit coming out of a dream.

“It’s cold outside, isn’t it?” She asks, making her way towards him, letting her arms rest on top the handrail.

“At least is not raining anymore.” He says, trying to keep his cool while that weird feeling crawling on his back. _Maybe is the wind._ “Not sure how good that is, though, the whirlwinds supposedly come after the rain.”

A strong wind blows through them, making them cower from the cold, and dangerously shaking the ship’s sails. From the corner of his eye, Soul catches Maka’s hands clenching around the handrail, fingers anxiously digging on the dark wood.

Nonchalantly, he puts a hand on top of hers. “Don’t worry, Navigator.” He says slowly, throwing his head backwards, letting his back rest against the hard wood. “The Black Dragon won’t come down with just a storm.” And then there’s something that shines in his eyes, something unexpected, deep into the dark red of his tired eyes. Maka says nothing, afraid that if she makes a noise he’ll remember she’s there, stop talking. “It has survived wars, invasions, time, and some say that even gods.”

Soul looks weird when he starts talking about the Black Dragon’s story. Not a bad weird, though, but undoubtedly weird. Or at least that’s how Maka sees it, with the wind and the moon, and the soft whispering of the waves, Maka sees Soul in a strange new light.

It feels weird. The ship, the man talking with her, the way the moonlight makes everything shine.

It feels weird, to say the least. All this ship feels like one old, dusty memory, sailing through the sea.

And then Soul says the magic words.

“Legends say it was built by a pirate that fell in love with the Ryu, hundreds of years ago.”

And something clicks deep in Maka’s mind, lighting the picture of a man with fiery red hair.

The world stops for a moment.

“Wasn’t that… the _White_ Dragon?”

And Soul’s eyes shine, because he’s been secretly waiting his whole life for this moment.

“It was.” He says, trying to not look as overexcited as he feels. “It supposedly turned black in the battle where the pirate died, after its enemies tried to burn it down.” He puts his hands in his pockets to hide the trembling, a big smile filled with pointy teeth in his face. “People say that the white paint turned black when the fire tried to consume it, and that you could hear the sea mourning his death for days, like a thousand voices crying in the distance.”

Soul looks mesmerized by how the Black Dragon shines under the moonlight. And Maka speaks softly, looking at him with curiosity in her eyes, not waiting to ruin the moment.

“My father used to tell me about that legend,” She says, her voice soft, like the waves caressing the ship. “Captain Spirit Albarn and the Ryu.” It’s been years since the last time she talked about her parents, and saying her father’s name is still a little weird. “It’s an old story every pirate in the Baltic Sea has heard at least once, like an initiation on the crew.” Her fingers dance over the dark wood on the ship that was once her home, while she remembers one of the few moments were she was truly happy with his father.

_“What story do you want to hear today, Maka?”_

_“Tell me about how you and Mommy met!”_

_“Again?” A laugh. “You’ve heard that story at least a thousand times!”_

_“I want to hear it a thousand and one!”_

_“Alright, alright, let’s see…”_

“He was a no one then, a boy playing pirate,” She starts, eyes lost in the sea. “But he was brave, and had strong ideals. Most of the crew liked him for that, some even respected him a little.” She doesn’t notice when Soul turns to look at her. “He never got to the high ranks, though, but some say that the Captain took a liking on him after he saved his life in a battle.” She makes a pause, like she was thinking something carefully, but continues. “The first mate didn’t like that. He got in his room in the middle of a night, tied and muzzled him, then threw him overboard.” A strong wind blows past them, making Maka’s hair flow like the waves. “He could swim, he could hardly breath. He was lost.” She mutters.

_“I thought it was my end.”_

_“But then Mommy came, right Daddy?”_

“And then he saw it, coming from the deep darkness of the sea, a blinding light, filling his body with warmth.” She smiles, a little smile like a sunray. “He said it was the most beautiful sight in the world.”

_“I remember thinking, that if that was how my life was going to end, then I didn’t mind dying at all.”_

“And then what?” Soul asks, and Maka blushes when she notices she’s been silently watching the sea for a while. She starts feeling shy, talking about her parents like this, but Soul couldn’t care less. “What happened with him?”

She looks at him for a while, wordless, quickly turning back to the sea. “He passed out.” She says hurriedly. “The next thing he knew, he was in a lost island with a woman that claimed to be the Ryu.”

Soul scoffs, and laughs.

“You’re kidding.”

Maka huffs annoyed.

“It’s true!” She exclaims.

“The Ryu, the guardian of the Baltic Sea, a _woman_?” He looks halfway from laughing, and Maka feels her blood boiling.

“He didn’t believe her either, even when she pointed out that being one of most magical creatures in the ocean looking like a human wasn’t that complicated.” She snickered, stopping her urge to stick out her tongue. “It took months for him to accept she was the Ryu.”

Soul snickers, shaking his head. “Months?”

“Months.” Maka affirms, nodding. “They spent months in that island, because she refused to help him go back to his ship until he acknowledged her as the Ryu.”

“Isn’t that kidnapping?” Soul asks jokingly.

Maka punches his arm, a smile on her face.

“Shut up!” She laughs, looking up at the moon. “They got to meet each other through those long months.” She says softly, her eyes lost in the sky. “Every day he would try to make a boat, a raft, or something along those lines. And every day she would make some food and hand it to him while saying: ‘If you accept that I’m the Ryu, I’ll take you to your crew. It isn’t that difficult, Spirit Albarn’.”

_“She never helped me move a stone, but she made sure I had enough food and rest every day, that I was healthy. She was a kind woman, even when she tried not to be it.”_

“She never forbade him to leave, but after a while, he discovered that he wasn’t that excited to leave either.” She continues, under Soul’s amazed gaze. “He liked to talk with her, to sit on the white sand and listen to her go on and on about the sea and its secrets.” He gets a little closer, almost without noticing. “He told her about his dream to become a pirate, how he wanted to see the world, live a life full of adventures.”

She sighs, remembering her father’s voice every time he talked about her mother, the love in his eyes.

“He said that she was the most beautiful rose in the world, if the most beautiful rose in the world knew everything about the sea.” She chuckles softly.

_“Maybe it was for how she talked, the way her eyes shone and her smile brimmed with happiness whenever she spoke about the thing she loved, but when someone asks me who the most beautiful women I ever met is, that only one I can think of is your mother.”_

Soul thinks about asking her to continue, but she looks like she’s remembering something nice, and he discovers himself liking her smile.

“Eventually, his old friends came to his rescue.” She told him. “The captain had died in a battle, and the strong opinions about the new captain divided the crew. A group of them started a little mission to look for him.” Her smile grows when she remember her father’s old crew. Her family. “It was the end of their adventure, they would never see each other again.”

_“And what did you do then, Daddy?”_

_“I did the only thing I could think of…”_

“So he told her to come with him.” The clouds move aside, and she gets to see the stars, shining in the night sky. “He told her to join his crew, to sail with him, to see the world and live a thousand adventures together.” She whispers, barely above the whispers of the waves.

They keep silent for a moment, dwelling in the sound of the night.

“They built this ship, and got married sometime after that.” Maka speaks again, eyes fixed in the sky. “And then they had a daughter, and because the can only be one Ryu in the sea, she died after giving birth.”

_“She just saw you for a moment, but I never saw her happier than then.”_

“Her body became foam and returned to the sea, and the foam bathed the ship in her love for her family.”

_“And even when she said nothing, I could see that more than the sea itself, she loved our little Ryu.”_

_“I love you and Mommy too, Daddy.”_

_“I know, angelfish.”_

“And that’s it…”

_“Now it’s time to sleep,”_

“That’s the story of why this ship is unbreakable…”

_“Goodnight, Daddy.”_

_“Goodnight, Maka.”_

“The story behind the White Dragon…”

Silence. A long silence, that none of them wants to break.

Maka stares down at the waves, lost in her thoughts, and Soul just looks at her mesmerized.

She looks beautiful. With her pale skin softly glowing with the moonlight, while her green eyes shine like little stars, and that melancholic smile of hers makes the night a little warmer. He looks at her, and for a moment he forgets all his problems.

It feels like they’re alone in the middle of the ocean.

And maybe that’s why he takes a step closer. Why he feels her so close, even when it hasn’t been that long since they met.

But is difficult not feel someone close when you also feel like they just opened their heart for you in one crazy pirate story.

“I liked that story a lot when I was little,” Maka mutters, thoughtfully. “Seeing the world, sailing the sea… it sounded like so much fun.” She chuckles bitterly. “Kid always said it was stupid, though, a pirate’s life isn’t for a bookworm like me.”

He does it without thinking, without actually processing it.

He puts his hand over hers.

“It is not.”

And looks deep into her eyes.

“Don’t let anyone tell you what kind of life you should want.”

And this time it isn’t about her, Soul notices, this time is about him.

It’s frustrating, a bitter memory that makes him act harshly, hold her hand tighter than necessary.

_Crack._

It breaks the spell, like a sudden storm, and they notice how close they are, how personal this exchange has been.

Maka blushes mad red, and mutters a quick apology, dashing towards her room.

It takes Soul a little longer to regain the strength in his legs, and walk back inside.

* * *

A week goes by. Soul avoids Maka, Maka avoids Soul; their conversation is still a complicated subject. Tsubaki knows something is happening, but Maka always changes the topic when they get there. Black Star looks concerned, but he knows better than to push Soul around to get an answer. Kid, Liz and Patty just stare from the sidelines, waiting.Subtly, Maka gives orders that make the ship go in circles, carefully looking for a reason to make them go back to the island. (In other situation, she would have tried to make sink the ship and return everyone in the middle of the chaos, but every time she thinks about hurting the Dragon her chest clenches painfully.)

The sea keeps quite, like there’s a storm coming.

* * *

Maka wakes up when her head hits the floor; the ship shaking violently and screams coming from upstairs.

“Black Star! The rope!”

“Hold tight, Tsubaki!”

“Navigator! Where is our navigator?!”

“Careful!”

Maka rushes upstairs, fixing her dress however she can, while the sound of chaos grows louder and louder.

“What’s going on?!” She asks as soon a she reaches the board.

The first thing she sees is how Black Star fights to keep the sails on its place, while Tsubaki runs from side to side, bailing the water out of the ship. There’s no sight of Kid or the twins, like usual.

“Navigator!” Soul’s sharp voice roars over the storm, and Maka turns to find him fighting with the wheel. “We entered whirlpool zone! Find us an island!” He orders. “We need to run ground!”

Maka nods, quickly running back to the little room where the maps are. Like anyone would expect in the given situation, the place is a mess and finding anything is far more complicated than usual.

On the outside, Maka can hear how Soul barks orders to the just appeared Liz and Patty, while the water starts to filter into the room.

“Looking for something, Lady Maka?” Kid’s voice is cold, and it feels like a blade running down Maka’s back. “It sound like there’s quite a problem out there…” He comments, nonchalantly.

Maka scoffs, not expecting for his help. “I’ve no time for this now, Kid, we hit a whirlpool.”

Death The Kid walks around her, not caring for the movement of the ship or the water, that doesn’t get to wet his perfect clothes. _The perks of being a Sea God._

“It’s quite weird, isn’t it?” Kid wonders out loud, slowly walking around Maka. She tries her hardest not to mind him. “For us to get to a whirlpool zone while the Ryu itself travels on this ship…”

Maka doesn’t want to listen to Kid’s teasing, she’s really not in the mood for that right now, but then she feels it.

Crawling on her back, a presence like the darkest of nights.

She turns slowly, almost trembling, and looks at him right in the eyes.

_He wouldn’t… He wouldn’t do something like that, even if he wants them dead, he would call her…_

A bloodcurdling scream fills the air.

“KRAKEN!”

* * *

Black Star just had the worst day of his life. He woke up with Soul screaming in his ear to go take care of the sails, he was soaking wet, and to make it all worse a black tentacle took down the ship.

When he fell to sea, he was sure that this awful day was going to be his last day too.

But then, he woke up in heaven.

He couldn’t hear a single thing (too much water, probably), but he could see perfectly. And what he was seeing, was more than enough to let him die without regrets.

It was Tsubaki, a little messy and agitated, but beautify as ever, with the sun falling down on her white skin, while her black hair fell everywhere.

She was saying something, he could see her lips moving. But all he could think about was how her eyes looked bluer than ever front this angle, and how every second of that awful, awful day was worth it, just for moment.

He wished he was dead and this was heaven, so he could past the whole eternity laying on the sand while Tsubaki had her whole attention on him.

It was just perfect…

_Until the sound came back._

“Is the blue monkey alive or not, Tsubaki?” Liz asks, poking him with her foot just as he gets up.

“I’m fine, thanks for asking.” _Damn, he has a killer headache._ “Where are Soul and the others?” He asks once he notices it is just him and the Thompsons.

“Hopefully, alive.” She says sharply. Tsubaki gives her a reproaching glare, clenching her fists but keeping quiet. “C’mon, we gotta find the ship before it gets dark.”

“Shouldn’t we try to find Soul and the other first?” He asks slowly, uncomfortably letting Tsubaki help him stand. (Right, he tried to fight that… thing, before it pulled him from the ankle. It is probably twisted.)

Liz chuckles darkly, looking down at him. “Didn’t know you wanted to spend the night in the Sea Witch’s island so much, monkey.”

“… what?”

_This is just one hell of a day, isn’t it?_

* * *

“It’s not my fault!”

“You’re the navigator! You’re supposed to be in charge of this! _That’s_ why we brought you!”

“I don’t choose where the whirlpools appear!”

“But you know where they’re more prone to do it.”

“Kid, you’re not helping!”

“I’m just giving my objective opinion.”

“Don’t talk like you’ve got nothing to do with this!”

Soul knows that, as a Captain, he’s supposed to keep his cool in these kinds of situations and guide his crew through the troubles.

_But he’s so damn mad._

“And what about the Kraken, huh?” He asks, tongue dripping venom, while he tries to shake some water off his clothes. “Weren’t you supposed to keep us out of its territory?”

“We were!” Maka exclaims, defending herself from the accusations. “I made sure to border it! I didn’t… It shouldn’t…” She turns to look at Kid, who just raises an eyebrow, and pretends he knows nothing. “I tried to keep us safe…” She whispers. _She shouldn’t have left them sail, she should have just crashed the ship and returned them to the island._

_But the Dragon… she couldn’t do that to the Dragon._

_And now…_

“Well, good job with that.”

_It is lost forever._

Soul clicks his tongue angrily. “No food, no water, no ship, no map,” He starts enumerating, making Maka sink deeper and deeper each time. “We have no idea where Black Star and the other are, and we don’t even know how to get out of this godforsaken island.”

He takes a look around, sighing heavily, before giving Maka a glare of frozen fury.

“Let’s go,” He musters angrily. “We gotta get out of here before this Sea Witch or whatever you two were talking about comes.”

Kid walks behind Soul, nonchalantly giving Maka one last glance, while the sea whispers that this is all her fault, and the Dragon is now lost forever. She follows after them, clenching her fists and walking slowly.

Behind them, moving at a safe distance, a shadow stalks silently, sighing softly:

“But… I don’t know how to deal with strangers…”

* * *

Of all creatures, one could say that mermaids are some of the more interesting. For starters,

_“Why you keep doing this?”_

_“We could break his arms and legs…”_

_“And let his body here to rot…”_

No one is born a mermaid.

_“Tie a stone to his feet,”_

You have to become one.

_“Throw him to the sea,”_

You have to die one.

**_“Kill him like they killed us.”_ **

Tsubaki shakes her head, trying to get Liz and Patty’s voices out of her head. Black Star asks her if something is wrong, and she tries to downplay it as a little headache.

_But they don’t stop._

Liz and Patty keep whispering, too low for a human to hear, but loud enough for any mermaid. They whisper, with a hate that’s been aging for years, how they should just kill Black Star and feed him to the animals.

_“Medusa will find a good use for him.”_

Mermaids are ones of the most interesting creatures in the sea. They die human, women thrown from the boats and ships as some sort of sacrifice to the gods, asking for forgiveness after letting such a bad omen get on board in the first place. With their hands and feet tied to keep them from trying to swim, and rocks hidden in their pockets, to make sure they sink; they drown.

_“Kill him,”_

They spend days, weeks, under water. With their mouths open in a silent scream, and their eyes empty eyes staring at the surface, waiting, yearning to go there, get a breath of sweet, sweet air…

Eventually, their arms and legs that once were trapped grow a membrane, like fins, and the water that once burned their lungs now rejuvenates their skin, their eyes get used to the darkness of the depths, while their bodies slowly slip away from their prisons.

Guided by a basic instinct, a new need, they swim to the shores, to the rocks, to the sisterhood. And then, with all the hatred that a soul can hold, with their burning throats and their damaged voices, _they sing_.

An angelic choir of a hundred woman, all singing about their own deaths, lurking people to their demise,

_“Kill him like they killed us,”_

Singing for vengeance in all sea men.

**_“Drown him in the sea.”_ **

Tsubaki always thought that there was nothing sadder than a mermaid’s song.

* * *

Soul walks at least five steps in front of Kid and Maka, and pretends that they’re not there at all.

“I don’t think we should keep moving,” Maka speaks carefully.

Soul, in the middle of his rage, turns to look at her with ice in his eyes. “We need to find Black Star and Tsubaki.” He states, purposefully leaving Liz and Patty out of the sentence.

Maka bites her lip, and phrases her response as good as possible. “Maybe they’re walking in the same direction and we’re just getting further away from them.” She says, trying to appeal to Soul’s reason. “We should stop and think this better; it’ll be no good if we run out of energy here.” She speaks calmly. “ _Please._ ”

Soul stops, takes a deep breathe, and sits under the shade. “You probably didn’t saw it,” He says, looking thoughtfully at the sea. “But Black tried to fight that thing, and ended hurting his leg.”

Maka sits next to him, putting a hand in his shoulder in understanding. “I know how you feel; I’m worried for Tsubaki too.” She says, keeping out that what worries her most is the possibility of Tsubaki being alone with Liz and Patty. “That’s exactly why we need to think this through.”

Soul nods, and Maka fills that, finally, things are working out.

“What should I do…?” A new voice comes from behind them. “Mother wants these souls, but I don’t know how to deal with estrangers…” The voice laments.

Soul and Maka jump back to their feet, and take some cautious steps in the opposite direction, waiting. Soul’s hand is ready to draw his sword in case of danger, and Maka has already taken out her little knife.

The unknown person takes a doubtful step to the front, and the light reveals their figure.

They’re a tall person, with short pink hair and dark blue eyes. With they’re skinny arms like toothpicks; they hold a wooden staff with seashells hanging from it.

Maka’s blood runs cold.

“Sea Witch!” Soul exclaims, drawing his sword.

“Wait!” Maka holds his arms, trying to stop him from charging. “They’re not Medusa! Don’t hurt them!”

Soul tries to fight his way out of Maka’s grasp, but she doesn’t budge, while her green eyes look at Crona and the image of a little child crying scared keeps appearing in her mind. She hasn’t seen Crona in years, but she still remembers how they used to cry all day long whenever Medusa forced them to go with her and see Kid’s father in Death City. She can’t let them get hurt, not like this.

“What should I do…?”

Crona, however, doesn’t seem to remember her as well.

“Mother wants those souls, but I don’t know how to deal with this…” They murmur to themselves, eyes nervously looking everywhere. Soul and Maka stop struggling, but he doesn’t put his sword down. “What should I do…? What should I do…?” They question out loud.

A cold winds blows over the beach, and Maka and Soul tremble to their very core when Crona looks up, right behind them.

“Maybe I should just let this to you,” They say, almost apologetically. “Ragnarok.”

The voice that comes from behind them, feels like a thousand tentacles crushing a ship.

“You’re such a useless sibling, Crona”

Then, and just then, Maka notices that Kid’s nowhere to be seen _._

_They’re alone._

* * *

“Foot hurts?” Tsubaki asks, careful to keep her facade in front of Black Star.

He shakes his head, quickly dismissing it, “It’s nothing the almighty me can’t handle,” He says, smiling bright and wide for her.

Tsubaki smiles, that little, soft smile, like a tiny white flower blossoming in a giant garden. She’s never been flashy, unlike most of the mermaids. She’s quiet, and gentle, and always feels a little bad when a ship crashes. And because her hatred for man isn’t big, because after years in the sea she learned to forgive, Tsubaki doesn’t sing, like the other mermaids, and has lost her singing voice.

_Just like when she was human, Tsubaki makes honor to her name, by being a voiceless mermaid._

**_Such a pitiful creature._ **

“What about you?” Black Star asks, surprising her out of her thoughts. “Do you want to rest? Are you feeling tired?”

She stays silent for a moment, before shaking her head and smiling again. “No, thank you.” She says politely.

Black Star smiles, and shakes his head. “We can rest, don’t worry.” He says taking a seat in the white sand. “Those two left us behind a while ago, anyway.”

Black Star doesn’t speak bitterly, almost like he doesn’t care. Liz and Patty pushed him around, laughed at him, left them behind, and Black Star doesn’t seem to give that much of a damn about it.

“How are you?” He questions her. “You’ve been having trouble keeping the pace for a while.” He point out.

Being a mermaid, Tsubaki is not used to walking so much, let alone doing it under such a bright sun. She’s feeling more tired than usual, even when she’s been walking on the border of the beach, where sea water can bathe her feet.

“Me fine,” She smiles at him, sitting by his side. “Foot fine?”

He looks at her, smiling warmly, and Tsubaki can feel the warmth get to her chest.

“Yeah, thanks for the bandages…” He says softly, different from his usual booming voice.

Black Star decides his actually a little sleepy, and he moves to lay over Tsubaki’s lap, who just blushes and caresses awkwardly his blue hair.

“Hey, Tsubaki, don’t worry about it, okay?” He says, shielding his eyes from the sunlight with an arm. “I know thing haven’t been good lately, Soul and Maka have been weird, we were attacked by the Kraken, and to top it all we’re trapped here…” He recounts with a bitter expression on his face.

Tsubaki wants to comfort him, but before she has the opportunity, he jumps, quickly sitting up.

“But don’t worry!” He exclaims, taking her shoulders. “The almighty me won’t let anything bad happen to you!”

It takes her by surprise, and she smiles, nodding effusively. Black Star smiles wider, feeling suddenly energetic.

“Alright!” He jumps to his feet. “I’ll go check the surroundings! You stay here!”

He starts running, and Tsubaki, that isn’t tired anymore, runs behind him.

“Wait! Black Star!”

Tsubaki is an odorless flower, and a voiceless mermaid, but at least she’s a happy one.

* * *

The first strike takes them by surprise, and Soul barely covers it with his sword, quickly pushing Maka aside, away from Ragnarok.

Sadly, it also puts her right on Crona’s range.

“I don’t know how to deal with people with knifes,” They say, swinging their staff to towards Maka, who dodges it just in time. “I don’t know how to deal slippery people either.”

They hit their staff against the floor, and Maka jumps backwards just in time to dodge a spike made of sand. Another follows the first, and in the blink of an eye, Maka is jumping from side to side, dodging spikes and occasionally blocking others attacks with her knife.

 _To be made of sand_ , she thinks, _they’re awfully sharp._

Soul doesn’t have it easier on his side either.

“Stop doing that! I’m gonna eat your little soul anyway!” Ragnarok laughs, swinging his sword again.

“First of all,” Soul calls as he blocks another attack. “You’ve got no idea how disturbing that sounds for me.”

Ragnarok chuckles, and charges towards Soul and trapping him against a tree. Soul saves his head from being cut off using his sword as a shield, but the force of the attack knocks the air out of his lungs, and his arms start to flatter.

There are inches between the two of them (even less between the sword and Soul’s neck), and from that distance, he can see Ragnarok’s eyes, black as his hair, and with what appears to be two little crosses inside of them.

In a sudden flashback, Soul remembers the black tentacles pulling the Dragon to the depths, and an eye, big as a house and dark as a night, looking at him with its cross-like pupil.

With strength that he didn’t have seconds ago, Soul pushes Ragnarok back, throwing him against the sand.

Of course, he just laughs more.

“What’s wrong, captain?” He teases, playfully cleaning the blood from his cheek. “Kraken sank your ship?” He asks knowingly, making a movement with his hand to invite him to try again.

This event distracts Maka for a second, which almost costs her right eye.

“What should I do…?” Crona mourns. “I don’t know how to deal with strangers…”

“And what about friends?” Maka asks, dodging another attack. “Do you know how to deal with friends?”

Crona looks confused, but their attacks don’t stop that easily.

“I don’t have friends,” The affirmation doesn’t appear to affect them in the least. “Mother doesn’t like us having friends; she says they make us lose the goal.”

A spike comes from behind, and Maka needs to use some magic to block it this time. She wonders if Soul saw it, but he’s too invested in his fight to notice.

“But we are friends! I’m Maka, remember?” She tries to convince them. “Back in Death City! When your mother went to talk with Lord Shinigami!” A hand of sand traps her ankle, making her almost fall in a bed of spikes. “You got lost in the castle, and helped you find you way out!”

Crona trembles, a little shaking in their hands that makes their attacks fail. Maka tries again.

“We played in the sand with Kid and Ragnarok all day long, while your mother talked with Lord Shinigami!”

Another shake, the sand starts to get out of control.

“I gave you a pink seashell, because it remembered me of your hair, and-”

“And I cried when we left, because I didn’t want to go…”

Crona lowers their staff, body trembling and eyes wide, like a terrible secret was just exposed to them. Maka wants to reach for them, but something else catches her attention in the last second.

Soul falls, his is sent sword flying somewhere else, and while he still trying to get on his feet, Ragnarok points his own sword to Soul’s face.

“Last words, captain?”

That simple sentence triggers something in Maka, and suddenly Soul has bright red hair and light blue eyes, and Ragnarok is another pirate, whose face she can’t see clearly, because someone (Uncle Stein?) is taking her away and throwing her into the sea.

She moves faster than any human should.

“Don’t!” She roars. “Don’t you dare touch him!” She opens her arms, standing tall to cover as much of Soul as she can.

“Move aside.” Ragnarok orders, looking severely pissed off.

Maka doesn’t budge.

“No!” She exclaims, and the wind blows stronger. “I won’t let you touch him!”

“Move aside, Ryu.” He growls, while thunder starts to resound in the distance. “Move aside or I’ll cut you too.”

“No!” She stands still, like a stone.

The wind blows stronger, the thunder sounds louder, and while Crona’s still having a nervous collapse, they can feel how something terrible is about to happen.

“Ragnarok-”

But that sentence never gets to the end.

Because Ragnarok lets his sword fall over Maka, and blood paints the sand red.

_It isn’t the Ryu’s blood, of course._

* * *

Soul couldn’t hear a lot of the discussion, Ragnarok had given him a good blow to the head, and the world sounded like he had cotton in his ears after that. However, he could perfectly see how Maka shielded him after he fell, and how she refused to move even when Ragnarok told her to do so.

He could also see how Ragnarok’s hand twitched a second before he lifted the sword.

The time slowed down, and something in his chest kicked him, a need, maybe an instinct. And his body that a second ago couldn’t move, found strength where there was nothing, strength to pull himself up, and take Maka’s shoulder to take her away from the swords way.

Sadly, he never considered the possibility of ending putting himself in the same way.

It took his tired mind a while to notice he was bleeding, but he was already numb with pain at this point, so could just understand this fact because of the pretty evident wound crossing his chest.

From that point onwards his mind slowly drifted away, making everything feel like a dream.

He got to see Ragnarok’s face go pale, while a white light started growing behind him. He thinks he remembers seeing him and Crona run away, while the blinding light took him in its arms and carried him to the sea, and the salt water, that would usually make everything worse, heal his wounds.

After that, everything was just a blur. He saw Tsubaki and Black Star worried faces, the Dragon’s black paint getting closer, and then he had Kid and the Thompsons look at him surprised. He thinks he heard some kind of discussion while they carried him inside, but he’s not really sure, and doesn’t really matter, anyway.

But above all, what Soul really remembers a week later, after waking up, is Maka holding his hand all the time.

* * *

Crona and Ragnarok stand against a wall, awkwardly waiting for their “punishment”.

Close to the boiling pot hanging over the bonfire, Medusa stares bored at the flames. Death The Kid’s words resonate inside her mind, like the thunder of an incoming storm resonating in the distance.

_“You want your son to be the Nidhogg, and I want my sea back to normal, it’s a win-win situation.”_

_“Sink that ship, Sea Witch, you have my permission.”_

Medusa smiles, a smile that makes the sea and her children tremble in fear.

_Did that little, naïve Sea God really thought that she needed his permission?_

_Please._

**_Don’t make her laugh._ **

* * *

“Ragnarok,” Crona calls while they walk out. Against any previous experience, Medusa seems rather pleased with today’s results, and decided not to scold them for their failure.

“What?” Ragnarok answers angrily, clearly pissed off after running away from that fight.

“That girl, with the blonde hair...” Crona starts, unsure. “Have I… have we met her before?”

Ragnarok stops, turning to look at his sibling. “The Ryu?” He asks, and they nod nervously. “We played with them when we were kids, that one time mother went to speak with Shinigami and got royally pissed off.” He says like it was nothing, looking down at his nails.

Crona looks even more puzzled than before, anxiously biting their lip. “The Ryu… Maka kept talking about it, but even when I could remember that day, I couldn’t remember her face…”

Ragnarok looks up at his sibling, a bored expression in his face. “Of course you don’t remember,” He says like it was obvious. “You annoyed the hell out of mother with your constant crying and wanting to see her, so she blocked your memory.”

A normal person would have had a strongest reaction to knowing that kind of truth, but Crona had grew up all their life with Medusa, and having their memory erased didn’t even get to the Top 10 of terrible thing she could do, so they just nodded understandingly.

“Still,” Ragnarok says, looking thoughtfully at the ceiling. “I don’t remember her caring so much about humans back then.”

* * *

Soul is back to his feet and with one of the “most badassest scars I have ever seen”, in Black Star’s own words. Everyone is at least a little happy the captain isn’t dead, and most of the explanations have already been given.

Kid, Liz and Patty found the Dragon trapped in some corals near the island and rescued it before going to look for the others; Black Star and Tsubaki got just in time to help Maka carry Soul, and the ship got just in time to get them out of there before something else happened.

Amazingly, Kid took care of Soul biggest wound, carefully cleaning it and stitching it “as symmetrically as possible”, while in parallel assuming the position of temporal captain and leading them to safe waters.

Maka spent the whole week he was out next to Soul, dutifully checking on him and changing his bandages, sometimes even sleeping in that uncomfortable chair next to his bed.

She was the first thing he saw when he woke up, peacefully sleeping while holding his hand.

Things are back to normal in the ship.

“Maka, we need more supplies, is there an island near?” Soul asks.

“We should find one if we head south from here.” She answers, trying to hide her face in the maps and books around the desk.

_Well, not everything…_

Soul doesn’t seem that thrilled with her actions.

“Do you want to come out and give me directions while I’m on the wheel?” He offers, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m fine here!” She assures him without looking.

Soul sighs, mutters a goodbye, and walks outside the little room.

Kid looks at Maka thoughtfully, “You haven’t been talking a lot with him lately.” He points out nonchalantly.

“Not your business.” She shuts him up, but he doesn’t seem to care.

“Did something happen while I was gone?” He asks. “Something besides the obvious, of course.”

Maka clenches her fists a little too tight, remembering that short second when Soul became her father.

“Nothing at all.” She says, giving him a cold glare. “Why so worried, symmetry boy? Weren’t you the one who wanted him dead?”

Kid says nothing more, focusing his attention back on arranging the books and maps.

He doesn’t plan on saying anything, but he has a hunch of where this all it’s going, and he deeply wishes to be wrong.

_But the apple can’t fall that far from the tree, right?_

* * *

She takes a break, just a tiny, little break, to get some fresh air.

She needs the breeze, and the sea, and to get away from those maps for a moment.

Five minutes, four. What are the possibilities of running into him?

“So you finally came out of your cave.”

_Apparently pretty high._

Maka tries to walk past him, back to the safety of her little room, but Soul holds her arm befoe she can run away.

“Why are you avoiding me?” He asks, and before she can say anything, he adds, “ _The truth_.”

She closes her mouth immediately.

How can she say something? How can she answer with the truth and tell him that she can’t see him without thinking on the scar in the chest, still pink and open? How can she tell him that he felt his life slip away while she took him to the water? That he almost dies protecting her.

 _Her_.

_A complete stranger._

“I’m not avoiding you.” She mutters, trying to move past him again.

This time, Soul sighs tired, and lets her go.

“Thank you.” He says before she’s completely gone.

Maka stops before reaching the door, turning slowly back at him.

“What?” She asks surprised.

“Thank you.” He repeats, looking her in the eyes. “Thank you for spending all that time taking care of my wounds.”

She bites her lip, feeling guiltier. “There’s no need to thank me,” She replies. “You got them protecting me, anyway.”

Soul shrugs, letting his back rest against the border of the ship. “You were shielding me before I decided to jump in the middle.” He says plainly, staring at the sea like it wasn’t that big of a deal.

Maka jumps exasperated, “But you’re the one who got hurt!”

“Then why are you the one who’s most pained?” He asks bluntly.

Maka closes her mouth, and looks down, clenching her fists and holding her anger. She’s a little mad at Soul, for acting like this wasn’t really important, and Kid, for having been pushing her around to talk about this, and to Ragnarok (she’s really mad at Ragnarok), for hurting Soul in the first place, and maybe she’s a little mad at Crona, for forgetting about her. But more than anything, more than anyone, Maka’s mad at herself, because she came here to protect Soul and Black Star from the Kraken, and instead left them get hurt.

What kind of guardian can be considered the Ryu, when it can’t even protect two people, let alone the Baltic Sea?

“For all I care,” Soul says, breaking the train of thought and pulling her back to reality. “I got this scar protecting someone that tries to protect me.” His voice is soft, like a lullaby. “And there’s no shame in that, not for me,” He looks down at her, a serious look in his eyes. “And not you either.”

It’s weird, she feels weird, so weird, and she needs to look down at her feet to ask the question that’s been eating her alive:

“Why?” She asks, almost without breathe. “Why did you save me?”

Soul looks at her for a long while, deep in thought, clearly searching for an answer in his mind.

Finally, he lets out a heavy sigh and looks up at the sky, “I don’t know.” He says, looking a little puzzled. “I saw you there, about to get hit and I…” He stops, trying to find some kind of answer in the stars. “I don’t know,” He says again, the confusion clear in his face. “My body moved on his own, and I remember thinking something like ´I don’t want her to get hurt´, but other than that I truly don’t know.” He finishes. And after staring at the stars some more, he turns to look at her again. “Why did _you_ protect me?”

Maka quickly looks down, and after weighting some options, she decides on doing something risky, “You remembered me of my father.” Tell the truth. “He isn’t really in a mission similar to us,” She says, already preparing herself to being thrown out in the next port. “He died when other group of pirates attacked the ship, some years ago,” Her heart clenches, but she doesn’t cry. “The situation you were in looked alike, and before I noticed I was already in front of you.”

A long silence takes place, while Soul stares at the stars, and Maka, at her feet.

It seems like a life time goes by, before she speaks again.

“Well?”

“Well what?” Soul asks without looking at her.

“I lied to you.” She says, confused. “Aren’t you going to drop me at the next port?”

Soul hums thoughtfully, “It depends.”

Maka is even more confused than before.

“On what?” She asks.

Soul turns to look at her, fully facing her. “Why did you really join us in this?” He questions, looking her right in the eyes.

“I…” She starts, struggling with words before finally giving in, “I just wanted to help.” Saying it, confessing it, makes her feel somewhat lighter. “You were going on this mission whether I came too or not,” She mutters, looking down at her feet. “I just wanted to help,” She admits it, almost ashamed. “To keep you guys safe…”

Another silence goes by, while Soul hums, thinking carefully Maka’s answer.

“Okay,” He finally says. “You can stay.”

She turns to looks at him surprised, ready to question his decision.

But she can’t, not right now at least, because the moonlight falls just right, and this young, bold adventurer is giving her a wicked smile that’s filled with bad omens and makes something in her chest jump.

_And who is she to refuse a good adventure?_

* * *

Once again, Maka and Soul are acting weird.

This time, however, is a different kind of weird.

Kid notices how the spend more time together than usual, and get along better than usual, and that’s good and all.

But he also notices the “other stuff”. The little glances across the ship, Maka trying to find reasons to talk with Soul, Soul trying to find reasons to call Maka outside, the little accidental touches, and the occasional blushing here and there.

Nothing happens, they do nothing, but Kid notices this and the weight in his stomach grows heavier.

It doesn’t help at all that he’s starting to like the humans.

But is difficult not to like them, after all this time, after all those days and nights, and jokes, and fun.

So much fun.

He doesn’t remember the last time he had so much fun.

Kid is worried with where things are heading, but maybe what worries him the most, is that it doesn’t bother him anymore.

* * *

Liz and Patty are having troubles.

“Here,” Black Star takes a box on each arm, and smiles widely at the twins. “Let me help you.”

They’re problem is that hating Black Star has become progressively more difficult.

He’s always helping, he hardly complains, and he treats Tsubaki like his first priority.

He asks if she’s fine, if she needs something, if she’s comfortable with where they are (“Do you want to go to another Inn? We could go to another Inn-” “This, fine!” “Okay, okay, I was just asking…”)

He helps them whenever he sees them, and he pays no attention to their rudeness and aggressively.

He always wishes them good morning and goodnight, and even his obnoxious ego is starting to be funny.

Patty laughed with him the other day, without even noticing.

Liz and Patty are having troubles; they’re starting to like Black Star.

_And liking a man, for the sisterhood, it’s a severe crime._

* * *

In the morning, before everyone else gets up, Liz and Patty walk to the border of the ship and let a white pearl fall into the sea.

_And intervention from the sisterhood is in order._

* * *

The crew wakes up in a thick fog, like they’re walking inside a dream.

“Where not supposed to be in a fog zone.” Maka answers Soul when he questions her about it. “Maybe it’s just the sea and its unbalance?” She offers as an answer.

Soul doesn’t seem too thrilled with that.

“Find us an island to set ground; I don’t want to sail in this thing for long.”

Maka nods, carefully walking back to her maps, when _that_ starts.

A chill runs down her spine.

She can recognize it anywhere.

“What’s that?” Black Star wonders. “Is that…”

_Singing?_

It takes the boys a second too long to notice what’s happening.

“Too long”, because that second is the one that lets the Black Dragon crash against some corals.

The singing gets louder

“Mermaids?!”

And louder.

“Don’t listen to them! They’ll trick you into falling!” Soul’s remembers his crew, from somewhere inside the fog.

But Maka still fills this is strange, there are no rocks in this part of the ocean, while would the mermaids want to trap them here? Are they calling for the Kraken, and Ragnarok is in his way to eating them? Or is it something worse?

That’s when the other sound started, a hundred claws climbing from the sides of the ship, like wild animals, while the voices get closer and closer.

“What’s that?!”

Maka remembers Liz telling her one time that some mermaids could use magic to grow claws in case, quote-unquote, “some poor bastard didn’t die drowned”.

She never thought they could use it for climbing too.

“Move to the center!” Soul tries to organize them. “They’re getting close!”

But it’s weird, Maka thinks while preparing for battle, mermaids aren’t that straightforward, they want their victims to suffer, they want their victims to crash and die slowly. Why would they kill them like this?

Finding out  if Maka’s realization or Tsubaki’s scream came first would be complicated, they happened more or less at the same time.

“Tsubaki!” Black Star calls for her, but the scream died as soon as it came.

He tries to fight his way out of the mist, stumbling with everything that could come in his way, while Tsubaki tried to thrash her way out of her captors’ hands.

It didn’t work that well.

“Stay quiet!” One of the mermaids hushes her.

“Don’t move!” Another whispers, tightening her claws around her.

“There’s no hope for you,

 _traitor._ ”

Tsubaki feels like she’s falling, and then the water fills her lungs, like she’s dying again.

She takes a deep breath of salted water, for the first time since boarding the ship.

* * *

When the mist goes away, a couple of seconds after hearing a large group of bodies fall to the sea, there’s no Tsubaki to be seen.

“They took her…” Liz mutters, shaking uncontrollably. “They took her…”

Patty is in no better shape.

“We didn’t want for this to happen,” She cried in her childish voice. “It was just an intervention!”

Black Star keeps staring in the general direction where Tsubaki’s voice was last heard.

“We need to calm down, think of a-”

Kid never finishes that sentence, before Black Star runs first jumping to the sea in the same direction those mermaids took Tsubaki. Maka follows after him, and Soul is close behind her. And, before he can notice, Kid is jumping too, with Liz and Patty on his tail.

* * *

“Mermaid?!” Soul questions loudly, while they swim following the mermaids trail. “The three of you are _mermaids_?!”

Liz and Patty nod without saying nothing, almost apologetically.

Soul scoffs, “Great, is there something else I didn’t know?”

Kid, that’s not really in the mood for this, answers nonchalantly, “Well, since I’m the one letting you breathe underwater, I’ll suppose you’ll want to know I’m a Sea God.”

Soul nods slowly. “Is that why you lot hated us so much in the beginning?” He asks, no hurt intended.

Kid spares him a long stare, and keeps looking forward. “Basically.” He answers.

Soul nods, slowly coming to terms with it. “Believe it or not,” He says, chuckling. “It somehow makes it better.”

Then he turns to look at Maka, swimming barely in front of him. She refuses to look back, to face him and have him wondering for her origins too.

 _Not yet_ , she thinks, _not after they’re all safe_.

Black Star leads the way, silent.

* * *

They catch up with the mermaids rather quick; Liz and Patty take a few shortcuts and carefully guide them to the inside of what appears to be a room made of coral.

Inside, Tsubaki is tied to a hook on the floor.

The room is filled with whispers.

“Silence!” A mermaid in the middle calls out. “Silence! The trial is about to start!”

The whispers quickly die down, as the mermaids turn to look at what appears to be their leader.

“We are here today to judge the sins of our sister, and apply the right punishment, so no mermaid will commit them again!” The leader exclaims.

The mermaids choir in approval, their singing voices sounding like a pack of wild animals.

The crew holds their breath, waiting.

“Sister Tsubaki,” Starts the mermaid leader. “You’re accused of the severe crime of protecting a human man,” The mermaids in the court gasp in horror. The leader proceeds, “You’re also known among your sisters for being uncooperative in your duties as a mermaid, refusing to sing along us and even trying to save sailors from their fair punishment,” The whispers grow louder, angrier. “And on top of that,”

The mermaid leader swims around her with a scowl oh her face, like she was some kind of nasty bug.

“You’re accused of committing the dreadful sin of saving your brother from us,” She almost spats at her. “The same man that once threw you overboard.”

The room goes silent, not a single voice can be heard.

“How do you proclaim yourself?” The mermaid asks.

Tsubaki speaks for the first time since being taken away.

“Guilty.”

Gasps and whispers fill the room again, angry mermaids muttering horrible thing.

“Do you promise to rehab yourself, and fulfill your duties as a mermaid from today onwards?”

Another long silence, an agonizing pause.

“No.”

The room suddenly feels colder, the killing intent paralyzing the crew in their positions while the mermaid leader dictates sentence.

“Then your fins shall be torn of your skin, your throat will be open and stitched, so you’ll never be able to speak again,” The mermaids start to surround her, chanting softly. “And every member of the sisterhood has the right slash your skin once.” The mermaid leader swims closer. “From this day onwards, you’ll no more be part of the sisterhood.”

Before the mermaids can jump at her like rabid dogs, a blue blur appears out of nowhere, cutting the rope that holds Tsubaki’s feet to the center and taking her away from danger.

“I told you, didn’t I?” He says, holding his axe with both hands. “The almighty me won’t let anything bad happen to you.”

Tsubaki nods slowly, and maybe she cries, but they’re underwater, so no one can tell.

It’s better that way.

“C’mere! You oversized fishes!” Black Star taunts, and the mermaids quickly swim towards him.

Soul jumps to action, followed closely by Maka, and surprisingly Liz and Patty get serious and start fighting like in the old days (“Like when we were human!” “You bet, big sis!”).

_But thing aren’t going as good as they think._

* * *

Soul hasn’t noticed yet, but Maka knows what’s actually happening.

_They’re getting cornered._

Slowly, the mermaids have been pushing them to the middle, trapping them inside the coral room.

Soul hasn’t noticed yet, but Maka knows that they have one hope.

“I can’t touch the mermaids,” Kid tells Maka in a whisper.

_And it can do nothing._

“What?!” Maka asks out loud. “Why not?!”

Kid clenches his teeth, furrowing his brow. “They’re technically doing nothing wrong,” He mutters. “This is what they’ve always done; I can’t intervene with their actions as a society, it could start a war between them and my father.”

Maka looks at him with wide eyes, before turning again at the trial. The mermaids are closing the circle around them, humming a soft tune while raising hands that look like claws. This is it; there are at least half a hundred mermaids, and probably more to come. Three humans and three mermaids can’t fight the sisterhood alone, not without magic.

_But they can’t use magic._

“ _I_ can’t do it.” Kid repeats, looking her in the eyes. “But the Ryu can.”

Maka would like to say it was a difficult chose for her to make, that it took her “seconds that lasted like hours” and that kind of stuff.

But it didn’t, she didn’t event made the question in her head.

There wasn’t even a question.

The decision was already made; she just had to act upon it.

(She would like to say that seeing Soul’s red eyes while he bravely stood in front to protect her had nothing to do with it, but she’s not good lying)

* * *

The Ryu is not an omnipotent creature.

It can be in danger, it can be defeated, it can be destroyed and killed.

The Ryu is not an omnipotent creature.

“RUN!”

_But even in its human form, it is still one of the most badassest creatures in the Baltic Sea._

_And it can make it roar to its tune._

With the inexpert eyes of someone that’s more used to being over the water that under it, Soul barely catches the subtly movements of the current running around her. But he can still see how it pushes the mermaids back, like an invisible whip.

She looks like a sea goddess, commanding the waves, almost glowing…

_Wait…_

_She **is** glowing._

Then, just then, Soul noticed for the first time that the light behind Maka former a figure.

_Like a dragon’s head._

And a memory that felt years old suddenly started whispering in his mind.

_“The Ryu, the guardian of the Baltic Sea, **a woman**?”_

_“He didn’t believe her either”_

_“Even when she pointed out that being one of most magical creatures in the ocean looking like a human wasn’t that complicated.”_

And, while the magic spell that allowed him to breath under water ran out, it all made sense.

_The water burns his lungs, while realization fills his mind._

* * *

He wakes up coughing, a taste of salt and metal in his mouth, the sensation of walking along death still on his skin. The world is too bright, and it takes him a moment to get used again to the light and colors.

And while he tries to regain his normal breathing, he catches a conversation, not so far away from where he is.

“We’ll get them to ground unharmed, now get out!”

“I don’t want to leave them like this! I’m tired of lying and running!”

“Maka, _please_ , leave.”

“I don’t want to!”

“Maybe we can make them think it was all a hallucination…”

“Don’t even try it, Tsubaki, you two have to leave this place too. **Now**. ”

“But Black Star-”

“He knows we’re mermaids, we’re not safe here!”

“We gotta go! We gotta go!”

“I don’t want to leave like this!”

“Maka, please, they’re here to _kill you!_ ”

“No, we’re not.” Soul says, his throat still burning while he stands up.

Under the surprised gaze on three mermaids, a Sea God, and the Ryu itself, the young captain walked all the way to the wheel, and took his place behind it.

_Like absolutely nothing happened._

The temperature drops, and Liz is the one to take a step to the front.

“You came all the way here to kill the Ryu, we knew it would come down to this.” She speaks with a controlled rage, almost like she didn’t wanted to be mad. “You expect us to believe that it’ll all end like this?”

Soul looks up from his compass, and gives all the members of his crew one lazy glance. He stops a second too long on Maka, who looks scared and unsure, and he wonders if she’s really the same girl that took down those mermaids.

_Then he sees her eyes, and he wonders no more._

“We came all the way here to bring peace to the Baltic Sea.” He states, nonchalantly. “How we do it is a completely different topic.”

From the corner of his eye, he sees Maka sigh relieved, and he suppresses his wish to smile.

“Besides,” He adds, trying to look cool. “All I see here is my crew, and we don’t kill our crew, right Black?”

Black Star’s voice comes from the other side of the ship, too tired to be so loud, “Right!”

“We’ll find another way.” He assures everyone, and they find themselves letting their guards down as soon as he says it.

For some reason or another, they feel safe.

“Now,” He calls, offering Maka his hand, and a mischievous smile.

_“To where, Navigator?”_

* * *

Days go by while the crew tries to find another solution, always keeping themselves at a safe distance from Medusa and her children, but they find nothing.

They talk to an old witch, pirates and travelers. Kid contacts with Death City, and his father says he’ll see what can be done, Liz and Patty seek for advice with the mermaids of other sisterhoods, Black Star sends a letter to their parents as a last resort.

A month goes by, and they have no idea what to do, where to go.

But every time they stop at a port and Maka asks what they’re going to do, Soul hands her the map and an unwavering smile.

“Keep searching.”

And so they do.

* * *

It was one of those days in which they were more or less floating without a course.

Maka enjoys the sun and soft breeze, staring at the wide sea in front of her.

“So,” Soul says, using some wood to hold the wheel while he took a break. “The Ryu?”

Maka sighs; they’ve had this conversation at least ten times. “Yes, Soul, the Ryu.”

He smiles wide when he catches that little hint of amusement in her eyes. “And those stories about the White Dragon…”

“All of them were true,” She affirms again, giving another long glance to the sea, a nostalgic smile on her face. “Well, at least my father said they were, not sure if I can trust him, though.”

Soul chuckles, enjoying the sight of Maka staring at the sea, her mind probably lost in some old pirate tale.

“Three mermaids, a Sea God, and the Ryu join a crew.” He says out loud. “It sounds like a bad joke someone tells you in a bar.”

Such a good day…

_Too bad it has to end._

* * *

Kid was peacefully fixing the bookshelf to be as symmetrical as possible, when the Dragon hit something and Black Star’s voice came from upstairs.

“Oh, no! Not _you_ again!”

He stood still, half way from the door, waiting for something he wasn’t sure what was.

“Uhm, lady who exactly are you?”

Silence. A long silence.

_And then came the screams._

“ **Sea Witch!** ”

_So that’s what he was waiting._

* * *

“What a warm welcome!” Medusa exclaims sweetly when she found herself surrounded. “I didn’t expect for all this attention so soon.”

Black Star holds his axe high, keeping Tsubaki behind his back, while Liz and Patty take out a the swords Kid bought them “in case we have another situation”. But Medusas eyes are fixed on just one person.

“Well, well,” She speaks, slowly making her way towards Soul and Maka. “Aren’t you the Ryu?” She asks out loud, getting closer to them. “Last time I saw you, you were just a little girl, but now-”

When she tries to raise her hand, Soul moves his sword up, challenging.

Medusa looks at him for a while, before smiling wide, like a hungry snake.

“ _Now you look just like your mother, don’t you?_ ”

A knife cuts the air just in front Medusa’s nose, and Death The Kid takes a step to the front.

“What are you doing here, Sea Witch Medusa?” He asks politely.

Medusa smiles again, like poison covered in honey. “Didn’t you ask me to come in the first place, Sea God?” She questions, walking towards him this time. “To ‘reclaim these souls for our sea’s wellbeing’?”

Kid knew that contacting Medusa was a bad idea since the beginning, but he believed that canceling the deal would do some good.

“That deal is over, I sent you a letter.” Says Death The Kid, a man that’s been raised to follow the rules.

Medusa, a woman that believes in nothing but herself, answers, “I received nothing.” And snaps her fingers.

_Of course._

* * *

Crona stands over Ragnarok’s head, watching how their mother fights against the crew after trapping the two biggest dangers, Kid and Maka, in her magic.

_“I made these cages thinking on your father, Sea God, so tell how well they work, would you?”_

The fight, for what it looks, won’t take that long.

“Do we really have to do this?” Crona asks to their brother.

“Well, mother is kicking their asses, so I think letting the ship go won’t be that big of a difference.” Ragnarok’s big eyes look up at them, “You’ve got a problem, Crona?”

They tremble, nervous to give a bad answer, but continue nonetheless. “Well, it doesn’t fell right…”

Even when Ragnarok has been mean to Crona, and has never been a good big brother, his never treated them that poorly either.

_He protected them from the monsters in the night, after all._

“What do you mean it doesn’t feel right?” He questions. “I thought we all agreed me being the Nidhogg would be awesome.”

Crona bites their lip nervously, looking anywhere but their brother. “I just…” They start. “I went through some of mother’s books and…”

Ragnarok feels surprised, Crona doesn’t usually do stuff that can make their mother mad, let alone something that they’re strictly forbidden to do.

“And what?” He asks. “What did you found?”

Crona thinks it through for a moment, before seeing Maka trapped in the cage, trying with all her might to get out.

They open their mouth.

* * *

“This is a severe violation of the laws-”

“Oh, but, Sea God,” Medusa starts. “I’m just doing this to protect _you_.” She says with a smile. “I can’t have _you or the Ryu_ get hurt, right?”

Kid clenches his teeth, while Maka trashes inside her own cage, trying to break the magic with her bare hands.

Medusa is having fun kicking Soul and Black Star around, dodging their attacks just to have them almost cut each other in half. Liz and Patty try to help by keeping Medusa’s magic attack on line, but every time they cut one of those tentacles that look like snakes another two appear, and the situation is starting to get out of control.

Tsubaki, silently, is trying to get to the cages where Kid and Maka are trapped.

“I wonder how many human souls does a mermaid’s soul counts as,” Medusa asks to no one in particular, just before Patty dodges another snake that was aiming for her face. “I hope they’re worth at least three human souls, maybe five…”

From behind her, Black Star swings his axe with all his might.

Medusa catches it without looking.

“You were going somewhere, young man?” She asks tauntingly, before tossing him towards the wheel.

Tsubaki gasps in horror, but refrains from her wish to go see Black Star and keeps climbing the mast, up where Maka and Kid are.

“What about you, old lady?” Soul asks coming from the side and swing his sword. “Don’t you have anything better to do-” He dodges a kick and blocks an attack. “Than bother a bunch of kids in the sea?”

Medusa laughs, attempting to hit Soul again, “You know, I’m actually having some fun here.”

She smiles wide at him, and then Maka screams over them.

“TSUBAKI!”

Soul looks up just in time to see how a giant snake made of water traps Tsubaki, stamping her again the mast she was climbing and then throwing her against the floor. Before he can look back at Medusa again, a punch sends him flying backwards.

“But I have no more time to waste,” She sentences coldly, taking slow steps towards him.

A flash of blue appears out of nowhere, and Medusa moves back just in time.

A red line appears in her cheek, and blood starts pouring out.

The world stops for a moment, while she cleans the blood on her face.

And then, a swarm of ice spikes fly in tired Black Star’s general direction.

He can’t move, not any more, he put all the energy he had in that one blow, and now he can’t dodge this. He closes his eyes, tired, so tired, and lets the battle axe fall. This is the end for him, and, truth be told, it isn’t a bad end, dying in battle, like a true warrior.

_Like he always wanted._

He waits.

And waits.

_And waits._

And when the blows falls, it is soft, and warm.

He looks down, and the first thing his brain recognizes is Tsubaki holding a shield in her hands.

The second thing is the blood.

“Well, that was unexpected…” Medusa says plainly. “But I suppose a mermaid’s soul is better than a human’s soul, anyway.”

Black Star holds Tsubaki tight, while the wound on the abdomen paints the ice red.

He doesn’t think anything in particular; he doesn’t do a lot more than holding her and staring.

“Thank you,” Tsubaki whispers, smiling like a little flower. “For caring.”

Black Star doesn’t cry.

He doesn’t move.

_He almost doesn’t breath._

* * *

“YOU, MONSTER!” Maka screams, almost tearing the cage to pieces. “HOW COULD YOU?!”

The sea rumbles, like there’s a storm coming, and Medusa stops laughing just in time to dodge Soul’s attack.

On the extreme opposite of Maka’s raging fire, Soul looks stoic.

_A wrath in his red eyes that freezes to the point of burning._

“My, my, looks like someone is mad,” Medusa sings, easily dodging the attacks. “What is it? Did the cat eat your tongue?”

Soul just keeps hitting, ignoring or maybe not even listening to Medusa’s taunts. Attack after attack, he pushes and pushes until-

_SLASH!_

Medusa jumps to dodge another attack, this time aimed at her legs. Then, as quick as he can, he hits her in the chest, throwing her back.

In the last minute, Medusa uses a snake to push her to the right, but that doesn’t save her from getting some scratches.

“Smart boy,” She applauds him, quickly melting the spikes of ice Soul almost impaled her in. “I’m gonna enjoy experimenting in your body later.”

The fight continues while Maka thrashes in her cage and Kid tries to break it with magic.

“I had to know she’ll use dark magic!” He exclaims, hitting around the cage. “Sea Gods can’t fight dark magic! That’s guardians ground!”

“Then what should we do?!” Maka asks, in a point between furious and terrified.

“There’s no other way!” He tries to use his powers outside of the cage, heal Tsubaki, help Soul. “You have to break them!”

“But I can’t!” She cries, in the border of desperation. “I’m trying and I can’t!”

“It’s the only way!”

Why? Why?! WHY?!

Things were going so good, they were having so much fun, she had made friends.

If she just made them crash like always, if she returned them before to the island, none of this would have happened.

If she weren’t the Ryu, if the was no Ryu.

If the Ryu never existed.

_She hated it._

The thunders roar in the distance.

_She hated being the Ryu._

The storm comes closer.

_She never wanted to be the Ryu._

“Hey!”

_She was just Maka._

_She was a navigator_

“Ryu!” Medusa calls, and Maka looks at her wide eyed, when she takes Soul’s sword up. “What about a little tribute to your father?”

The world slows down.

The hardest part of being the half human, half Ryu, as Maka sees it, is the lack of control you have over your powers.

Sometimes, no matter how much you need to use them, you can’t.

And others,

“DON’T!”

_You’re not able to stop them from destroying everything._

The last thing Soul sees, before darkness takes over his sight, is a white light that makes him feel warm inside.

_He hears the light roars, and the Baltic Sea roars with it._

* * *

“What’s wrong, Ryu?” Medusa asks, sickly sweet. “Did someone take your toy?”

Medusa is a smart woman, a sly woman that knows how to twist the rules to get what she wants.

“Well that’s sad.”

A woman that believes in nothing other than herself.

“But you can’t do anything.”

A woman that can destroy lives like they didn’t mattered.

“I’ve done nothing wrong, you see. My son need these souls, we need a Nidhogg.”

Medusa is a smart woman, and she knows that powerful beings, like the Ryu, are tied to rules they can’t break.

 _“A guardian can’t punish without a crime”,_ is what the rules say, and Maka can’t fight against them even if she wants.

But there’s a thing Medusa never calculated in her plan.

“I don’t want them.”

And it was her own spawn turning their back to her.

Ragnarok stands in the middle of the deck, with Crona hiding behind him.

“Ragnarok-”

“I don’t want them.”

Ragnarok looks furious, and if it wasn’t for the Ryu itself being there, a storm would surely have started in that moment.

But Medusa is having none of it.

“What do you mean you don’t want them?” She asks, the sea shaking around her in anticipation.

Ragnarok, of course, feels no fear towards his mother’s fury. “Why don’t you better tell me about me having to live in the abyss after becoming the Nidhogg?” He asks coldly. “Or that I will lose my eyes and become a giant, blind snake, hm?”

Medusa’s glare turns to Crona, who hides behind their brother.

“ _You…_ ” She points, dripping venom. “ _You saw through my books, didn’t you?_ ”

Medusa raises an arm to strike Crona, but Ragnarok isn’t over just yet.

“Hey, Ryu, Sea God!” He calls, loud and clear for everyone to hear. “This woman here,” He points at his mother. “Killed the previous Nidhogg to force Shinigami let me become the next one!”

It isn’t even a battle.

_It’s not worth calling it that._

Divine justice would be better suited.

“—!”

Medusa doesn’t even have time to scream, the waves fall on her like an unforgiving storm, pulling her underwater in seconds.

Neither Maka nor Kid are sure who’s the one who did it, but Death The Kid has always suspected that his father had ears everywhere.

The sea goes silent.

* * *

“What are you two gonna do now?” Kid asks, looking at Ragnarok and Crona.

“Head home,” Ragnarok says, scratching his head. “Clean a little, get rid of Mother’s stuff.”

Kid looks past Ragnarok at Crona, who looks a little smaller than usual and seems to be watching something behind him.

Knowingly, he asks, “Is there something you want to ask?”

Crona jumps, and shakes a little, but asks anyway.

“What… what are they gonna do?”

Kid frowns looking at Maka, back in her human form, crying over Soul’s lifeless body, while Black Star holds Tsubaki against his chest, trembling, while Liz and Patty look aside and try to pretend they’re not crying.

“I don’t know.” He answers, looking down at his hands. “Death is a realm not even gods can touch…”

Crona looks at him, at the broken crew, and, finally, they look at Ragnarok.

“Maybe...” They start, doubtfully. “Maybe a witch can…”

Kid’s eyes go wide. “No, you can’t, it takes too much magic.” He says sternly. “It’s too dangerous; we’ll just end with more bodies.”

“There’s another way, different from resurrection.” Crona tries to explain.

“It’s too much magic, it won’t work-”

“How much?”

Maka comes from behind Kid, moving him aside and facing Crona.

“How much magic do you need?” She asks again.

Crona is a little taken aback, but answers anyway, “A lot,” They say, and after thinking it a little they add, “And a soul for each of the fallen.”

Maka nods, understandingly, before Black Star appears too.

“And it’ll work?” He asks, almost out of breath.

Crona look around at the Black Dragon, and then looks at their brother, who silently nods his head.

“I think that, if it is this ship, it’ll work.” They assure them.

Maka and Black Star look down, clenching their fits, knowing what “a soul for each of the fallen” really means.

Crona understands, and hold their hands. “Don’t worry,” They say softly. “The four of you’ll be able to pass on whenever you want.” They smile to the both of them.

Maka is the first to notice the oddity in that sentence.

“Four…?”

* * *

There’s an old Viking legend that people tell in the ports, about the Baltic Sea and its guardians.

They talk about a ghost ship that travels along the sea. A ship like a white dragon, sailing softly over the waves on days of fair weather. They say that those who see it will have good luck and a safe trip, and that those who get see the white-haired captain and his loyal crew, will forever surrounded by happiness.

They say that they travel the world looking for adventures, discovering all the secrets of the sea and more.

They also say that their navigator was once the Ryu, but no one believes that anymore, because everybody knows the Ryu wasn’t real (what a weird thing, right? Believing that two dragons maintained the order in the sea).

There’s an old Viking legend that people tell in the ports, about the Baltic Sea and a mysterious ghost ship that watches over their creatures, protecting them from the any harm.

They call it the White Dragon, and they say it will sail forever, as long as there’s adventures to live.

_It is a weird legend, but that's just how legends work._


End file.
